DEBORAH HOLLAND v. GENERAL ACCIDENT (03/01/85)

No. 00697 Philadelphia 1983, Appeal from the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Civil, at No. 3238, April Term, 1982.

COUNSEL

Marshall E. Kresman, Philadelphia, for appellant.

David M. McCormick, Philadelphia, for appellee.

Cirillo, Montemuro and Cercone, JJ.

Author: Montemuro

[ 339 Pa. Super. Page 434]

On February 2, 1983, the Honorable Ethan Allen Doty, of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, granted appellee's, General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd.'s, motion for summary judgment. This appeal followed.

The sole issue before us is whether appellant's action against appellee, the assigned servicing carrier under the Pennsylvania Assigned Claims Plan [PACP],*fn1 for "uninsured motorist benefits" is barred by the applicable statute of limitations.

The undisputed facts are as follows: On November 6, 1976, appellant was injured in an automobile accident while riding as a passenger in an automobile owned and operated by Richard Shapiro. Neither Shapiro nor appellant were covered by an applicable automobile insurance policy. On July 23, 1977, appellant filed an application for "basic loss benefits" pursuant to the PACP and, on May 9, 1978, appellee made payment to appellant in the amount of $14,429.27. This payment was the final payment made to appellant with regard to the injuries she allegedly suffered in the November 6, 1976 accident. Following a denial of appellant's request for uninsured motorist benefits, appellant instituted the instant action against appellee on April 21, 1982.

[ 339 Pa. Super. Page 435]

Appellant's claim for uninsured motorist coverage is founded upon our supreme court's opinion in Tubner v. Page 435} State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 496 Pa. 215, 436 A.2d 621 (1981). In Tubner, the court held that a company assigned to provide insurance coverage pursuant to the PACP is required to pay not only basic loss benefits, but also uninsured motorist benefits. The Tubner court reasoned,

Because assigned insurers are obligated precisely as if they had issued basic loss insurance policies, and because every policy of basic loss insurance issued in Pennsylvania must include uninsured motorist coverage, the right to uninsured motorist benefits under the assigned claims plan follows a fortiori from a straightforward reading of the statute and the legislation lawfully promulgated thereunder.

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